A week ago, I felt as though mine would be the only voice screaming to FIFA and the South African 2010 Soccer World Cup Local Organising Committee to disallow the animal sacrifices planned by the so-called traditional leaders here in honour of the event. Minutes within launching the petition (http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Stop-2010-World-Cup-Animal-Sacrifice) on the Care2 network though, it became apparent that I was wrong – other voices were joining mine from right across the world.

The chorus grew rapidly and is but a few voices short of the 2,000 signatory milestone. Judging by the overwhelming public response, 10,000 signatures are within reach! A month and a day remains before the self-imposed deadline for submitting the Stop South Africa from Sacrificing Animals at 2010 Soccer World Cup petition to the FIFA Executive Committee.

Driving towards success in the mean time ….

To improve our chances for success in stopping South Africa from sacrificing animals for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, we have to manage our drive as a carefully orchestrated CAMPAIGN. Unless we do that, we will probably be brushed off and ignored.

We figured that a really good target would be each and every one of the 2010 World Cup Sponsors and Partners – both locally and abroad.

The 2010 World Cup Sponsors are:

Budweiser

Continental

MTN

McDonalds

Satyam

Castrol

The FIFA Partners are:

Adidas

Coca Cola

Sony

Hyandai

Visa

Emirates

The FIFA South Africa Partners are:

BP

Neoafrica

Telkom

FNB

Prasa

Next week I will be sending an email to the Board of each of these sponsors and partners. In brief the email will contain:

a link to the Reuters article which broke the news of the impending sacrifices -http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLN24914120091023, and

a link to the Stop 2010 World Cup Animal Sacrifice petition on the Care2 network

We will also be asking them, as sponsors / partners of FIFA and the 2010 Soccer World Cup, whether they agree with the proposed sacrifices of animals to honour the event. Naturally I will remind them that should the sacrifices happen, they will by virtue of their presence at the 2010 World Cup, be viewed as in support of this abhorrent practice.

Their responses will be duly noted both here and on the Care2 Network Site.

Once the petition is submitted …

Do we sit an wait for a response, hoping that someone somewhere in the great rambling FIFA organisation will send us some sort of an acknowledgement or perhaps even go to the trouble of discussing the matter with their South African ‘leg’?

This kind of tack would be downright naive.

The high level plan of action is thus, that over and above submitting the most crucial document in the campaign (namely the petition) to the FIFA Executive Committee, we will be sending copies of this petition to the FIFA CEO, the Chairman of the South African 2010 World Cup Local Organising Committee, and the 2010 World Cup Sponsors and Partners.

To ensure that we prevent the ‘out of sight out of mind’ trap, we will be asking supporters of the petition (those that are prepared to remain involved for a while longer) to send a pre-formulated email message to all the above organisations on a daily basis. Email addresses will be supplied.

The article reported on South Africa’s 2010 Soccer World Cup Animal Slaughter Plan and the sacrifices that were already performed (between 2005 and 2007, I assume) during various sod turning ceremonies. Ostensibly the sacrifices were made to bless (or is that Bless in Blood) the construction of the sites where new stadiums for the 2010 Soccer World Cup were to be erected.

Naturally those that approved these sod turning ceremony slaughters are quick to defend their decisions. For instance: Pieter Cronje, who is spokesman for the City of Cape Town, (one of the cities where the 2010 Soccer World Cup will be played) told the Cape Argus that:

“There was a blessing and limited sacrifice ceremony on the stadium site before the start of construction. This was done under the appropriate supervision of law enforcement and city health officials. There was also an inter-denominational blessing at the sod-turning ceremony for the stadium by the premier and mayor at the time”

What a load of RUBBISH. Here is my take ….

ONE

Considering that they approved BLESS in BLOOD once before, there is no reason for them not to approve the proposed 2010 Soccer World Cup animal slaughter. In fact, they created a precedent!

TWO

LIMITED sacrifice? I am sorry, but I do not understand that term. Does LIMITED mean play-play sacrifice? Nope, not likely. Or does it mean that only a half a cow was sacrificed? Nope, not doable. Or does it mean that a smaller animal – some poor hapless goat, or lamb or chicken – was gleefully sent into the hereafter in order to BLESS in BLOOD a 2010 Soccer World Cup venue and a sport where blood really has no role to play? Or does limited mean that the animal is kinda dead or kinda alive after having been LIMITED sacrificed? I have no idea. Do you?

THREE

They try to make it sound all controlled and harmless by being quick to point out that the Bless in Blood sacrifices at the construction sites of the 2010 Soccer World Cup sod turning ceremonies were done “under the appropriate supervision of law enforcement and city health officials“. This includes South Africa’s N SPCA by the way.

Oh, that is just great. Sarcasm intended.

So, the SPCA supervises the killing of innocent, healthy animals instead of preventing this cruelty. (When last I checked, the role of an animal cruelty prevention agency was Preventing Cruelty. That is what the P and C in SPCA are meant to stand for. ) But then, in South Africa SPCA may be the abbreviation for Society for the Perpetuation of Cultural Animal killings. Anything is possible. If you don’t believe me, have a look at their media statement in which they make it abundantly clear that they WILL be supporting the proposed BLESS in BLOOD sacrifices to inaugurate each of the 10 FIFA Soccer World Cup Stadiums.

“The N SPCA position is respectful and supportive towards cultural and traditional practices,” said the statement. “Welfare standards are paramount and these include issues such as transportation of animals, holding facilities, the manner of handling, plus the method of slaughter. The N SPCA wishes to give input on this issue to all relevant parties, including to the traditional leaders who made the announcement on this issue.”

Their words, not mine. All I can say is SHAME on you N SPCA. My monthly contributions will now be made to Wet Nose instead!

FOUR

Naturally Cronje was also quick to add that there was also an inter-denominational blessing at the City of Capetown sod-turning ceremony (presided over by both the premier and the mayor, just by the way). Oh, how nice…..!

Double HUH? Am I missing something?

Why were the cultural killers not included under INTERDENOMINATIONAL blanket? Is that not what interdemoninational implies? Or are we dealing with yet another populist move on the part of the powers that be, pandering to a massive portion (80%) of the South African population considered to be above everything – even above interdenominational? (Bear in mind that these animal slaughtering people are mostly practicing Christians, so it is not a case of them belonging to some strange ancient religion. This makes what they are doing an insult to Christians all over the world.)

Bet you those who fell within the ambit of interdenominational did not kill to bless the 2010 Soccer World Cup stadiums though. And perhaps that is why these so-called ‘traditional’ African Style guys and gals needed and wanted to be in a class of their own. And they ARE. A real killer crowd.

LET US STOP THIS

Please sign the petition! And ask as many people as you possibly can to sign and spread the word.

The petition IS doing well. 1,313 signatures within four-and-a-half days. We need many, many more though! The petition will be handed to the FIFA Executive Committee and the South African 2010 World Cup Organising Committee at the end of November. Your contribution is and would be HIGHLY appreciated! Thank you 🙂

The initial dripping support has grown into a steady trickle and the petition now sports, at the time of this writing, 655 signatures. Considering that the petition was only started at 9pm (GMT+2) on October 23rd, this is a very encouraging result! Thank you to all who have been of help.

FIFA Executive Committee

I contacted FIFA directly, provided the information as reported upon by Reuters and informed them that a petition is running in opposition to the application filed by traditional leaders in South Africa. I went on to tell them that I am not of the belief that any one of the committee members could possibly be in favour of sullying the image of the 2010 World Cup by allowing the blood of animals to be spillt in this way. I asked them for their support against the application and am awaiting their feedback.

Animal Rights Organisations

To ensure that organised support is lent to the “Stop South Africa from sacrificing animals at 2010 Soccer World Cup” campaign, I contacted PETA and Animal Rights Africa on Sunday night. Thus far I have not received any response from either. Naturally I will be approaching many more over the next few days.

Blogs

Many concerned blog owners have included a link to the petition in their blogs. Naturally the response from blog commenters were varied, some airing their concern, others airing their disbelief and others still their opinion that we are all a bunch of animal rights wackos. So be it. If you stick your hand up, the odd bite at it is to be expected.

Media

Thus far, I have only been commenting on articles covering the proposed sacrifice of animals in blessing of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. As soon as the petition reaches 1,000 signatories, I will be contacting newspapers and news channels directly. Hopefully this will catapult the campaign to higher levels.

What you can do to help the cause?

No activism is necessary. Simply send the petition link and, if you wish, a link to the original blog entry, to people you know. Here are the links again:

Who will the ‘Stop South Africa from sacrificing animals at 2010 Soccer World Cup’ petition be submitted to?

It was not an easy decision, but I eventually decided that the FIFA Executive Committee and the South African FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup Organising Committee are the most appropriate recipients. To ensure that both these bodies can act in a timely manner, the targeted date for submission is the end of November 2009.

When President Jacob Zuma won the South African Presidential elections, he too was

Blessed

…

in

BLOOD

Just in case you have not heard the story, yet:

South African ‘traditional leaders’ intend performing ritual animal slaughters in order to bless the Soccer Football Stadiums to be used during the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. Zolani Mkiva, chairman of the Makhonya Royal Trust, said the tournament has to to be blessed in true “African style” and that they are going to slaughter cows in sacrifice at each of the 10 stadiums to be used for the event.

Any reasonable person will immediately think: Surely this can be prevented. After all, South Africa does have Animal Protection Laws and an N SPCA. You are right if that is your response – on the latter part of your thought anyway. BUT, as I am about to explain, NOT on the former part. Here is why.

The SPCA

When Reuters broke the news, the N SPCA of South Africa made it clear that they will not prevent or oppose the animal slaughter / sacrifice planned in honour of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. In a very politically correct media statement, they indicated that they are

Don’t expect any support against the 2010 Soccer World Cup animal slaughter / sacrifice from the N SPCA

South African Law

Sure! South Africa DOES have laws governing the treatment of animals – about 40 of them – and that does not include the many bylaws passed governing our behaviour and conduct towards animals. We also have a Consitution. A Consitution that allows religious freedom INCLUDING, in this instance, slaughtering animals for religious purposes and, by the looks of it, to BLESS the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The law is extremely vague as the humane-ness of such killings, saying that it should be done in – and I quote:

” in a humane way as is reasonable within the particular religious or cultural values of the person effecting the slaughter and subject to the requirements of the SPCA.”

Don’t expect any protection against the 2010 Soccer World Cup animal slaughter / sacrifice under South African Law

What now?

Stopping the proposed, torturous deaths of the animals intended for sacrifice in honour of the 2010 Soccer World Cup is going to be NO easy matter! I started a petition two days ago to try and rally as much support as I can from people across the world. Please sign this petition if you disagree with animal sacrifice: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Stop-2010-World-Cup-Animal-Sacrifice.

So far we have 327 signatures. The target is 50,000. Your support in terms of creating awareness among friends, colleagues etc will go a long way towards achieving the targeted number! The petition will be submitted to the FIFA Executive Committee and 2010 Soccer World Cup Organising Committee of South Africa. I am also busy rallying support from Animal Rights Organisations across the world and approaching the media to solicit additional support. I am of the conviction that if sufficient pressure can be brought to bear, the animal sacrifice planned by South Africa to celebrate and bless the 2010 Soccer World Cup can and will be stopped.

One: The bloodthirsty throat slitting – or rather throat hacking – of sacrificial cows are not the worst ceremonies these animals are subjected to in this country. There are some rituals where a bull would be killed with bare hands (obviously the poor animal would be tied down). This involves gouging out his eyes, tongue, testicles and tearing his throat open. As you can imagine the latter takes a while to achieve. Cattle hide is rather tough. And YES. These heinous acts are all perpetrated to celebrate spirituality! ???????

Two: The SPCA is suddenly being referred to as if they could be the potential saviours of cows while, in real every day South African life, they – in a s far as I know – NEVER get involved with any of the so-called ‘cultural’ animal killings. On the one hand, it simply would not be politically correct. (And I am saying the latter with a good measure of sarcasm.) On the other hand, and in all fairness, it could also be very dangerous for the inspectors to try this. Chances are good that the gathering could turn on them – and this could end up in grievous bodily harm or even death. Africa is not for the fainthearted. (No, I am not exaggerating – read the SA newspapers)

Three: The number of cows earmarked for death by suffering to celebrate the 2010 Soccer World Cup is, compared to the number of cow (and bull and goat and chicken) sacrifices in South Africa, like a single cup of water out of a great big seething cesspool of a dam. When you take all of Africa into account, the dam becomes a polluted ocean.

The petition (http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Stop-2010-World-Cup-Animal-Sacrifice) I launched on Saturday night (GMT+2) in an attempt to stop the ritual killing of cows at each of the ten stadiums to be used for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup is standing at 195 signatories at the time of this writing. We are still 49,805 signatures away from our target.

The petition will be submitted to the FIFA Executive committee and the South African 2010 FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee. I believe that if we have enough support, if the media gives the matter sufficient attention and if animal rights organisations internationally endorse the campaign against the planned 2010 World Cup Animal Sacrifice Rituals, it can be stopped.

Reuters reported that South Africa is considering an application by ‘Traditional Leaders’ to sacrifice animals at the 2010 FIFA Soccer World cup scheduled to take place in June of next year.

It carries a YouTube rating of 18 and is not suitable for sensitive viewers. I am one of those and it took many attempts and a whole lot of tears to work through it.

The FIFA Soccer World Cup is inarguably the premier football event internationally and probably the most watched sporting event in the world. The upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup is set to take place between the 11th of June and the 11th of July next year in South Africa – the 19th time that the event will take place.

South Africa had to compete long and hard against 203 other soccer playing countries, pulling all stops – including the involvement of the much respected, iconic Nelson Mandela – to try and secure our position as host to the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. I still remember the jubilation with which the FIFA Executive Committee’s decision was met in May 2004 to grant rights to the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup to South Africa. An African FIRST!

The rest is history. Stadiums were built – even in economically non-viable areas – and infrastructure was created in anticipation of the enormous influx of soccer enthusiasts from all over the world. The fact that government spend is MORE than the income to be derived from the event, is incidental. The FIFA Soccer World Cup is creating employment for the ordinary person on the street, marketing opportunities for business and pressure on the government to stamp out crime (albeit that the success of the latter endeavour is questionable).

Just when we thought that is should be smooth sailing from here on end, Reuters broke the news.

South African ‘traditional leaders’ intend performing ritual animal slaughters in order to bless the Soccer Football Stadiums to be used during the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. Zolani Mkiva, chairman of the Makhonya Royal Trust, said the tournament has to to be blessed in true “African style” and that they are going to slaughter cows in sacrifice at each of the 10 stadiums to be used for the event.

Just in case you have not viewed the YouTube clip, here is how it happens:

The cow’s legs are tethered together and she is flipped on her side. You can hear her moaning. She is held down by two or three people while a fourth one is standing by with a small dish and a fifth person wields the knife. They slit her throat, but the animal does not die. She screams and struggles, trying to throw off her assailant. He stumbles backwards and comes for her again, cutting some more. Her eyelids are still batting and her eyes are filled with panic and fear as he hacks away at her throat. She continues struggling weakly as the man with the dish approaches her to catch the blood spurting from her arteries. She still is not dead. There is no post- or pre-incision stunning.

It will take a while before she will have bled enough to die – much longer than the 51 second YouTube clip embedded in this blog.

Now, I cannot help but wonder whether the South African application to the FIFA World Cup Executive Committee ever disclosed the possibility of ritual animal slaughter. Probably not, even though some of the South African delegates MUST have known that this was likely to happen. After all, some of them will have participated in such slaughters before. I also have to wonder whether the FIFA World Cup Executive Committee would have awarded the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup rights to South Africa had they known. I seriously doubt it.

Some sources state that the South African SPCA has been made aware of the application and that they will be involved. Now THAT is a farce in its own right! In South Africa THOUSANDS of animals are ritually slaughtered every year while the SPCA turns a convenient blind eye to the proceedings – all in the name of ‘culture‘.

Will the application to the South African FIFA Soccer World Cup Committee by these ‘traditional leaders’ be approved? Well, your guess is as good as mine. Here ANYTHING is possible, including approval. After all, we do have a propensity for erring on the side of having populist political leaders.

My little voice is screaming STOP. But it is guaranteed to remain unheard. Hence this blog. I also started a petition to help prevent this abomination. Whether your national team is playing in the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup or not, please sign and ask others to sign too. I will be blogging about this every day in an attempt to reach more people and promoting this story as far and as wide as I can. I ask you to do the same too. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Stop-2010-World-Cup-Animal-Sacrifice